Remembrance: Kansas City Churches Helped Save Lives Amid Pandemic

An important look at local history and how faith communities worked to overcome one of many plagues that has hit this cowtown. 

Here's the word . . .

We saw groups such as the Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime and the Good Samaritan Project emerge to support a vulnerable community in a time of need. Many in the broader public saw AIDS as punishment for an “alternative lifestyle,” which caused a lack of urgency from mainstream resources and a mindset that the Gay community was not worth saving. This indifference led to the formation of groups such as the “Condom Crusaders” and the organization of services like the Gay Talk and Teens TAP information hotlines. A Kansas City drag troupe known as the “Trollops” was formed to raise money for local AIDS service organizations.

One unlikely source of support were local churches. While many pastors saw homosexuality as a moral failing and a sin, some realized early on that the church and the clergy could be a vehicle for lifesaving information.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .